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5 Sheets-Sheet 1,

(No Model.)

G. R. MOORE.

WALKING AUTOMATON.

No. 454,570. Patented June 23,1891.

5 E 5 5 E Nn T (N0 Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

G. R. MOORE.

WALKING AUTOMATON.

No. 454,570. PatentedJune 23, 1891.

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Wafiassas (No Model.) 5 Sheets-Sheet 3. G. R. MOORE. WALKING AUTOMATON.

No. 454,570. Patented June 23, 1891.

(No Model.)

' 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 G. R. MOORE.

WALKING AUTOMATON.

I ,3. 3 3f I Patented June 23,1891.

(N0 Mddel.) s Sheets-Sheet 5. I

G. R. MOORE.

WALKING AUTOMATON.

No. 454,570. Patented June 23,1891.

W: TN 5-8 s s WMMZZ NlTED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

irEORGE R. MOORE, OF VESTFORD, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE- HALF TOEDXVARD A. MOORE, OF SAME PLACE.

WALKING AUTOMATON.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 454,570, dated June 23,1891. Application filed January 30, 1891. Serial No. 379,693. (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE R. MOORE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Westford, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain Improvements in \ValkingAutomatons, of which the following is a full, clear, and exactdescription, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, makingpart of this specification, in which Figure 1 is a perspective view ofmy walking automaton attached to a wheel chair or carriage. Fig. 2 is aside elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear elevation of the same. Fig.4 is a sectional elevation of the automaton without the carriage. Fig. 5is an elevation of a portion of the automaton, showing the side of themechanism opposite to that shown in Fig. 4.. Fig. 6 is an end elevationof the operative mechanism contained in the body of the automaton. Fig.7is a sectional elevation of the lower portion of the leg and the foot.Fig. 8 is a detail of the elliptical gearing.

My invention relates to a Walking automaton adapted to be actuated by anelectric or other suitable motor, and has for its object to impartlife-like movements to the lower limbs of the figure, causing it to walkin a natural manner.

To this end my invention consists in a novel mechanism for actuating thelower limbs of a walking automaton and in certain combinations of partsand details of construction, as hereinafter fully described, andspecifically pointed out in the claims.

In the said drawings, Arepresents the body or shell of an automatonrepresentinga man, said body or shell being composed of a suitablenumber of plates or pieces secured together by screws, rivets, orotherwise and forming a hollow casing for the reception of an electricmotor 13 and the operative mechanism connected therewith. This motor isconnected by wires 1) c with a storage or other battery C, preferablylocated in the body of a wheel-carriage D, to which the automaton isattached by means of a yoke d, jointed at 1i to a bar or log 15,projecting from the body A, to permit of the natural movement of thelatter in the act of walking. The vertical portion of the yoke swivelsin lugs projecting from a bar 6 at the back of the carriage, said barhaving two curved branches 16, which extend around over the axle f, towhich they are fastened by bolts 17, Fig. 3, the two branches 16 beingunited by a transverse piece 18, to which is secured a foot-rest 19 forsupporting the feet of a person who may be seated in the carriage D, itbeing intended to construct the automaton of life size for exhibitionpurposes. The arms 20 of the automaton are jointed and rest on the backof the carriage D, but do not receive any motion from the actuatingmechanism.

E E are the lowerlimbs of the figure, which are hollow and adapted to bevibrated alternately by mechanism to be hereinafter described. At theupper end of the thigh portion 21 of each limb are two lugs orprojections 9 h, one at the rear and the other near the front. To theselugs are pivoted links c 7a, the upper ends of whichare pivoted toadjustable lugsl m, secured to a rocker'bar H, at or near the center ofwhich is an adj ustable lug n, to which is pivoted the lower end of aconnecting rod or bar 19, the upper end of which is pivoted to theframe-work I of the clock-work mechanism to be hereinafter described. Tothe front lug h is also pivoted a connecting rod or bar q, the upper endof which is pivoted to the frame I at 22. There are two rocker-bars Honeon each side of the frame-work Iand to the front end of each rocker-barH is pivoted a crank r, keyed to the end of a short shaft 5, Figs. 4, 5,and 6, having its bearings in the frame I, said shaft carrying aneccentric elliptical gear a, which meshes with a corresponding eccentricelliptical gear '1; on a shaft 20, as seen in Figs. 4:, 6, and 8, saidshaft carrying a large gear ct,which is driven by a pinion b on a shaft0, the latter having keyed to it outside the frame-work a large gear(1', which is driven bya smaller gear e on a shaft f, the lattercarrying a gear g, which is driven by a pinion h on the main shaft 2" ofthe electric motor B.

It will be seen that both of the upper eecentric gears 11 are keyed tothe same shaft, while the lower eccentric gears 21, which meshtherewith, are each fixed upon a short inde pendent shaft 8, providedwith a crank 0',

jointed to the rocker-bar H on that side, as isnecessary to enable thelimbs E E to be vibrated alternately in opposite directions, and as thecrank-shafts with their cranks are rotated a peculiar rocking motionhaving a variable speed due to the arrangement of the eccentric gears isimparted to the two bars H H, which by reason of the jointed connectionswith the limbs E E, above described, and the connecting-rods p Q willcause the said limbs to be swung forward and back, and at the same timelifted with a motion closely resembling that of the legs of a humanbeing in the act of walking, the motion being at first slow, and beingsubsequently,accelerated as the limb is swung forward.

To the lower end of the thigh portion 21 of each of the lower limbs issecured a plate 23, having a downwardly-extending lug or projection 24,to which is articulated at 25 a hollow leg portion To the front uppercorner of the portion is at the knee-joint is pivoted at 26 aconnecting-rod Z, which extends up through the hollow thigh portion 21and is adjustably secured at its upper end by means of a slot 126 andscrew 27 to the frame-work I, forming a portion of the body A, thearrangement being such that as the limb is swung forward and lifted intaking the step, as above described, the rod 1 will act upon the frontupper corner of the leg 70' and swing it to the rear on the knee-joint25, and subsequently swing it forward to straighten out the limb justbefore the completion of its forward movement, the leg being thus causedto bend at the knee in walking in a natural and life-like manner. Therod Z is made in two parts, one having a right-hand and the other aleft-hand screwthread, said parts being united by a screw-sleeve 28, byturning which the length of the rod Z can be adjusted as required.

To the lower end of each leg 7v" is pivoted at 29 a foot portion M, anankle-joint being thus formed, and to the foot portion near the heel'issecured by means of a bolt (seen dotted in Fig. 7) a plate 30, whichextends up into the leg portion and has pivoted to it at its front end a"connecting-rod 7",, the upper end of which is provided with a head 31,Fig. 4, and is adapted to slide longitudinally through a swivel-link orconnecting-piece 32, which is pivoted at 33 to the front end of ahook-shaped projection at the lower end of the projection 24 of theplate 23, which is secured to the thigh portion 21, as before described,and thus as the limb is bent at the knee-joint the foot portion will bedrawn upward at the toe,while when the limb is straightened at theknee-joint the foot portion will be carried downward at the toe, so thatit will rest squarely on the ground.

Between the connecting-piece 32 and a collar 34, Figs. 5 and '7, on therod 1" is a spring 35, which permits the rod 0' to yield slightly in thedirection of its length, as is necessary to produce a natural andelastic step.

The head P of the automaton is supported and balanced in such mannerthat it will. be free to oscillate slightly as the body moves in the actof walking, thus giving it a natural appearance.

The shaft 0' is elongated, as seen in Fig. 6, and extends through anaperture (not shown) in the shell or body A, being squared at one end toreceive a crank-handle, (not shown,) by turning which the mechanism canbe operated without employing the motor 13, if it should be desired todo so.

I do not confine myself to the employment of my mechanism in automatonsrepresenting human beings, as it is obvious that said mechanism can beapplied to walkin g automatons representing animals without departingfrom the spirit of my invention.

What I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent,is-

1. In a walking automaton, the combination, with the body, of the lowerlimbs, each connected at the frontaud rear of the upper end with arocker-bar actuated by a crank, and crank-shaft rotated with varyingspeed by means of elliptical gearing forminga part of the operatingmechanism, whereby the lower limbs are lifted and swung backward andforward to cause the automaton to walk in a natural and life-likemanner, substantially as set forth.

2. In a walking automaton, the combination of the cranks rotated atvarying speed by means of elliptical gearing, the rocker-bars connectedwith said cranks, jointed connections between the opposite ends of saidrockerbars and the upper ends of the lower limbs at the front and rearof the same, the connecting-rods p, pivoted at their upper ends tostationary supports and pivotally connected at their lower ends to saidrocker-bars, and the connecting-rods q, pivoted to the body and to thelower limbs at or near the front upper corners of the same, whereby thesaid lower limbs are lifted and swung backward and forward in imitationof a natural step, substantially as set forth.

3. 111 a walking automaton, the combination, with the body and the lowerlimbs, of an actuating-motor, a train of gearing connected therewith andhaving on one of its shafts a pair of eccentric gears o o, two separateshafts s 5, provided with eccentric gears u a, meshing with saideccentric gears 11 0;, said shafts s 3 being provided with cranks r r,the rockerbars H H, connected with the cranks M, and

jointed connections between the said rockerbars and the lower limbs atthe front and rear of the upper ends of the same, all operatingsubstantially in the manner and for the purpose setforth.

4. In a walking automaton, the combination,with the body, the lowerlimbs, a motor, and an actuating mechanism operated thereby and providedwith crank-shafts and cranks rotated with varying speed through the me-Y Q dium of ellipticalgearin g, substantially as described, ot' therocker-bars H H, each connected at one end with one of said cranks,jointed connections between the opposite ends of the rocker-bars and thefront and rear por- 5 tions of the upper ends of the lower limbs,

the connecting-rods p p, pivoted at their upper ends to the body orframe-work and jointed to the rocker-bars at points at ornear the centerof their length, and the connectingro rods (1 q, pivoted to the body andto the lower limbs near the front of the same, whereby the said lowerlimbs will be swung forward and back and simultaneously lifted,substantially as described.

Vitness my hand this 28th day of January, 15 A. D. 1891.

GEORGE R. MOORE. I11 presence of P. E. TESOHEMACHER, HARRY W. AIKEN.

